1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to trash containers and the like, and more particularly to an apparatus for facilitating manual tilting and movement of a wheeled trash container.
2. Description of Related Art
The term “trash container” herein includes any of various cans, bins, barrels, receptacles, curbside containers, yard waste carts, and other containers for temporarily storing trash, waste, refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, and the like. A typical wheeled trash container includes a rigid, 32-gallon to 96-gallon plastic container component, a lid component atop the container component, a handle assembly that forms a pair of spaced-apart handles on the container component, and a set of wheels on a common rotational axis at a lower portion of the container component. After trash has been collected in the container component, a user moves the trash container by closing the lid, grasping the handles, tilting the container rearwardly toward the user on the wheels, and then wheeling the trash container to a desired position alongside the curb for trash pickup (something like the operation of a typical wheeled appliance dolly).
Although wheeled trash containers have become a common household device for trash management, users often experience various problems in moving existing trash containers. First, a fully loaded container can require significant strength for the tilting operation. In addition, the container can roll out of control during the tilting operation if the user does not maintain a proper grip and balance. Furthermore, the lid can fall toward the user during the tilting operation, especially when the container is overfull. Moreover, the user must remain relatively close to the container and bent over sufficiently to maintain their grip on the handle, an awkward position at best. And, this position must be maintained, in large part, as the user pushes or pulls the trash container to the curb and sets it upright. For these reasons, there exists a need for a better way of manually moving a trash container.